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Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a late move for Victor Osimhen after Liverpool appear to be in pole position to sign the Lille striker this summer. 

According to The Daily Express, Jose Mourinho is keen to steal a march on Liverpool in the race to sign Osimhen in the summer.

Jurgen Klopp is desperate to bolster his attacking options amid interest in his front men Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

Lille are looking to offload Osimhen to raise some funds to cover the costs of these uncertain times.

Napoli are eager to sign the Nigerian, but he has indicated he wants to play in the Premier League next season.

Recent reports had suggested he was on his way to Serie A after Lille received a huge offer worth a reported €81m fee from the Azzurri, but several Premier League clubs are tracking the situation, and a deal seems far from done.

Osimhen, 21, has emerged as one of Europe’s hottest properties after a stellar debut season in Ligue 1, scoring 18 goals overall. He has followed in the footsteps of a long line of forwards to make a name for themselves at the Mastiffs, including the likes of former Chelsea star Eden Hazard and Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe.

Spurs must sign a backup striker to provide cover for Harry Kane, as the 26-year-old was ruled out for a significant portion of the season after suffering a hamstring injury.

However, Mourinho could miss out on Osimhen if he hesitates any longer, as Klopp has already enquired about his availability.

Make no mistake, Osimhen would be a dream signing to make, as his record is there for all to see, but it is hard to imagine he will be anything other than that in the summer.

Putting it simply, Spurs cannot afford to spend such a huge sum at the moment, considering the fact Daniel Levy has just borrowed a £175m loan from the Bank of England to alleviate the economic impact of these unprecedented circumstances.

Les Dogues are holding out for at least £70m for the Nigerian international, which is well outside of Mourinho’s price range.

Mourinho knows his budget has been severely slashed and he will be forced to rely on swap deals, signing free agents and hunting for bargains in the transfer market.

Tottenham fans, should the board sign Victor Osimhen this summer? Let us know down below!

Name: Phil Foden

Club: Manchester City

Date of Birth: 28 May 2000

Position: Midfielder (Central/Attacking)

Phil Foden – his career so far

By now, almost everyone knows about Manchester City’s bright young talent that is Phil Foden. The 19-year-old midfielder may not be a regular starter or, at times, even a regular squad player with the Citizens, but he is definitely among the players who are expected to be the big stars of the future.

Pep Guardiola knows it and the footballing world already knows it as well. And the most important thing to note here is that Foden is a Man City product through and through, having joined the club when he was only nine years old and already a big fan of the club. But it didn’t take long for the club officials to recognise the talent and the potential of the kid from Stockport.

After advancing through the ranks and impressing along the way, Foden signed his academy scholarship in 2016 and later that year, he would also get his first senior call-up, sitting on the bench as an unused substitute in Man City’s 1-1 draw with Celtic at the Etihad.

But that was only just the beginning of a long journey towards the first-team of the Citizens. He would also accompany the team in their US tour and would already feature in some of the games as the 2017/18 campaign kicked off. His senior debut happened against Feyenoord in the Champions League in November 2017 and a month later, he became the youngest Englishman to start in a Champions League game as he appeared in the starting XI against Shakhtar Donetsk. His Premier League debut would follow ten days later.

In total, Foden has played 29 games for Man City’s U18 squad, scoring 14 goals and assisting further seven along the way. In the nine games he’s played for the U23s, the young midfielder bagged six goals and five assists.

But even more impressively, despite being only 19 years of age, Foden can already boast with a total of 62 senior team appearances during which he scored and assisted ten goals.

Needless to say, the future certainly looks bright for one of the most talented English footballers of today.

Transfer latest

One thing is clear as day when it comes to Foden’s future at the club – he is not going anywhere and Man City are counting on the 19-year-old midfielder to become one of their most important players in the not so distant future.

For that reason, there are no transfer rumours or Manchester City news currently surrounding the young talent as he looks set to stay and develop at the Etihad. Not only that but it was recently revealed that the Citizens want to find more Fodens in their academy and are hoping to unearth more talents of his calibre soon.

Of course, that is easier said than done but it’s also quite a big testament to the youngster’s talent and the reputation he already has at City. There might be a clean-up at the Etihad in the summer if the recent transfer rumours are true but Foden is unlikely to be a part of it.

Player profile

Foden is a highly creative midfielder who’s capable of both playing the role in the deeper areas of the pitch as well as closer to the opposition’s goal. His biggest strengths lie in his incredible close control and technical ability.

He can be seen deploying pinpoint passes and also beating his man to progress the ball and carry it into the final third and towards the box. These traits were evident during his stay at Man City’s academy and also came to prominence in his senior team exploits to date.

But he also seems to be quite deadly in front of goal, having that eye to rattle the inside of the opposition’s net as well as set his teammates up for success with deadly passing.

With his rather unimposing physique and height, Foden often relies on his supreme skills on the ball to exploit and create space on the pitch. Even at such a young age, he is already showing glimpses of the brilliance that could be unearthed with more grooming and developing.

Lots of Everton fans have been buzzing at Richarlison’s latest comments ahead of the Merseyside derby clash against Liverpool on Sunday. 

As per Desimpedidos (via The Toffee Blues), the 23-year old seemed to be playing mind games ahead of the Reds’ visit to Goodison Park, as he claimed thet Virgil van Dijk is not the best defender in the world, adding that Marquinhos, Sergio Ramos and Thiago Silva are all better than the Dutch powerhouse.

Indeed, this will have raised a few eyebrows, especially since Van Dijk was the Ballon d’Or runner-up in December and the fact that they are likely to be battling it out against each other on the pitch.

However, one name that may have particularly stood out to several members of the Blues faithful was that of Silva, as Sky Sports reporter in Italy Gianluca Di Marzio (via The Gwladys Street) has revealed that Carlo Ancelotti’s team would be his preferred destination if he leaves Paris Saint Germain in the upcoming summer transfer window.

Comparing the 35-year old to VVD in their respective domestic leagues in the 2019/20 season so far, the Brazilian has actually averaged more tackles, interceptions and blocks per game, according to Whoscored.

Whether Richarlison’s claims are true are up for debate, but these EFC supporters buzzed upon reading them:

Evertonians, who is the best CB in the world? Comment below!

Everton are willing to discard Sandro Ramirez this summer after fresh news emerged from Spain earlier in the week.

The 24-year-old has been out on loan at Real Valladolid since the start of the season, his third spell away from Goodison Park in as many years.

Ramirez was originally signed by Ronald Koeman in the summer of 2017 and has only been able to make 16 appearances for the Toffees since.

Valladolid’s director, Miguel Angel Gomez, has been discussing the future of the Spaniard in a recent radio interview with Cadena Ser where he said: “Sandro belongs to Everton, and you have already seen published that they intend to transfer him for around 5-6 million [euros]”

It appears as if the current hierarchy in Merseyside are keen to offload the flop having failed to make his mark at the club.

The fee mentioned by the La Liga club is £4.5m, which is a fraction less of the £5.3m they paid for him from Malaga three years ago.

How big of an Everton fan are you? Can you spot Mikel Arteta from Graham Stuart? This quiz will test your knowledge, try it if you’re brave enough…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

Carlo Ancelotti has decent forward options at his disposal as he’s able to choose from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Moise Kean on a weekly basis, meaning if Ramirez were to return to Everton, he’d soon become fourth choice – if not worse.

The Toffees have also been linked with a move for AS Roma frontman Patrik Schick, so it’s quite clear to see that there’s simply no future for Ramirez at Goodison Park.

AND in other news, Everton fans react as Greg O’Keeffe relays Moise Kean news…

As former teammates and Premier League winners, there are few Manchester City fans that would fail to recognise the contributions that both Shaun Wright-Phillips and Joleon Lescott have made to the Citizens’ recent history.

Whilst they have spent most of their career’s taking on full-backs, or in Lescott’s case keeping out the best-attacking talent that was on offer, they both now find themselves at the epicentre of a different challenge and one of virtual kind.

Lescott and Wright-Phillips have signed up for the NHS Charities Together Cup, where alongside ex-Bolton star, Fabrice Muamba, they will become a part of Team Poseidon in the FIFA 20 tournament.

What is the NHS Charities Together Cup?

A group of celebrities, including former-sports stars, comedians and actors, have signed up to compete in the NHS Charities Together Cup, which aims to raise £100m in support of the current Covid-19 crisis.

The FIFA 20 competition will involve eight all-celebrity teams, with three celebrities per team, going head-to-head in 12-minute long FIFA 20 matches. Fans will be given the chance to vote for who they want to see compete from every team in each round.

The competition’s organisers, Celebrity e-Sport, hope to raise a huge £100m for NHS charities together during these desperate times for all the care workers on the frontline, who are putting their own lives at risk to help save ours.

Team Zeus v Team Ares

Ben Stokes v John Terry

Stuart Broad v Paddy McGuinness

Jos Buttler v Jonny Brownlee

Team Apollo v Team Nemesis

Dillian Whyte v Lando Norris

Tony Bellew v SV2

Tim Cahill v Tekkers Kid

Team Hercules v Team Iris

Justin Rose v Kem Cetinay

Joe Root v Chris Hughes

Ulisses v Shaugna Phillips

Team Artemis v Team Poseidon

Leah Williamson v Shaun Wright-Phillips

Erin Cuthbert v Joleon Lescott

Viv Miedema v Fabrice Muamba

For more information on the event and how you can donate, click here.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Sunderland have struggled of late but they stand a good chance of winning tonight if Phil Parkinson gets a key tactic right and exploits Burton accordingly.

On the chalkboard

The Black cats have weak aspects to their game themselves, but since those issues mainly lie in attack they should be able to deal with the threat posed by the visitors tonight, particularly as they have only scored 18 goals in 15 league games.

Another point of weakness of Nigel Clough’s side is their ability on the ball. The Brewers have averaged a pass accuracy of just 70%, which shows they can be got at when in possession.

Phil Parkinson has to make his players aware of that fact, and instruct them to close down their opponents with greater intensity, especially the defenders.

Such pressure could cause a mistake which leads to a Sunderland goal, but failing that it should at least rush Burton in their decision making, and lead them to concede possession easily, which will lead to the home side dominating the ball – making it more likely for them to find a breakthrough.

Watch Sunderland Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Change in personnel?

If Parkinson is to adopt a high-press strategy for this clash he may be best suited to making a few changes to his starting lineup.

Players with more pace like Duncan Watmore and Benji Kimpioka could be drafted into the side with good effect, replacing the maligned Chris Maguire or Aiden McGeady.

That would allow the Black Cats to defend from the front, and perhaps ensure that the majority of the game is played in the opponent’s half, which would keep them pinned down and allow Sunderland to pile on the pressure.

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With that in mind, it may also be useful to recall Marc McNulty to the side. He has built up a reputation over the years as a hard-working forward, and such work rate and desire could prove very useful in shutting down defenders.

All but one Burton defender has a pass accuracy lower than 70%. If Parkinson doesn’t attempt to exploit that it would be a missed opportunity, and Sunderland could once again find themselves in a position where they’re struggling to break a team down, as the visitors have only conceded 16 league goals this season.

Meanwhile, Parkinson has also been going wrong by repeating this simple failure throughout his tenure so far.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Former England international Danny Mills believes Mason Holgate must leave the club if he wants to find more game time.

What did he say?

Holgate started the away defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion because of the injury to Yerry Mina, whilst he kept his place against Watford as Michael Keane was rested. The 23-year-old has not been a regular for Everton and has only been seen more recently because of injuries.

In fact, Keane has started every league game, whilst the trip to the Amex was Mina’s first time missing out in the league this season. As a result of his lack of minutes, Mills believes Holgate must leave Goodison Park.

When asked if Holgate has lived up to expectations, Mills told Football Insider: “No, maybe he needs another loan spell or whatever to get out and play consistently, week in, week out.

“There’s a lot of players at Everton, they’ve brought in a lot of quality, have they performed to their best? Have they performed under the pressures that they need to do? I’m not sure many of them could say yes.”

Not a youngster anymore

Holgate is 23 now and simply has to be playing on a consistent basis, whether that be on loan or at Goodison Park. The days of settling for a sporadic role in the side and playing in the domestic cup games to gain experience have passed.

As Mills suggests, at his age he must be playing on a regular basis, especially if he has any future dreams of  making a statement to Gareth Southgate for England.

For example, players such as Keane have been regulars for teams for a number of years. Prior to his move to Merseyside, the former Manchester United man was a big player for Burnley, missing just five league games over two seasons.

Now, Keane has found his way into the England setup and become a regular at the back for Everton. Holgate could do the same, as he has proven in the past two games he is a man with quality and potential to hold is own against Premier League opposition.

His assist against Brighton and his goal and a clean sheet against Watford prove that he can be a great asset, but he needs to continue playing on a regular basis to maximise his potential.

Ian Wright was furious with Unai Emery after the Spaniard claimed Arsenal didn’t deserve to lose against Sheffield United on Monday night.

The Gunners scuppered their chance to climb into fourth on Monday and the defeat means they’ve gone four Premier League away games without securing a win since their opening day victory at Newcastle United.

Rather ironically, former boss Arsene Wenger, who was unceremoniously forced out of his position with the help of a global hashtag ‘Wenger Out,’ was trending on Twitter after the match – albeit aided by the fact Tuesday is his birthday – with some apparently now realising just how good they had it with the Frenchman for 22 special years.

The increasingly unpopular Emery didn’t help his case last night either, by claiming that his side deserved more against the Blades…

It’s one thing losing after a dismal display – that can be forgiven. Failing to acknowledge a poor performance, and even going as far to defend it, however, is asking for trouble.

Arsenal legend Ian Wright certainly wasn’t pleased with Emery’s choice of words…

After enjoying an impressive year for West Ham last season, Declan Rice has quickly become a staple in Gareth Southgate’s England side in recent games.

The 20-year-old made 38 appearances across all competitions in the previous campaign, and was handed his Three Lions debut in March of this year.

His form has seen speculation linking him with a big-money move to Manchester United in the future, with The Daily Express even claiming West Ham would be putting a £100m price tag on his head.

In EURO 2020 qualifying action against the Czech Republic on Friday night however, Rice failed to really show why he is reported to be worth so much in the transfer market.

The 20-year-old struggled to impose himself on the game, and often saw the home side’s midfield overwhelm him. The Hammers prospect made no interceptions or tackles in the entire game as Southgate’s men slipped to a shock 2-1 defeat.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

After seeing Rice’s display, United fans flooded to Twitter to share their thoughts on their club’s reported transfer target.

Many supporters of the Manchester side insisted they couldn’t exactly see what the 6 foot 1 man actually brought to the table.

Some Red Devils fans revealed they felt he would be a complete “waste of money”, and would much rather see the club’s own academy prospects given a chance to shine.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Everton fans have reacted furiously to the news that Everton midfielder Fabian Delph could be set for a spell on the sidelines after injuring his hamstring, as told by The Liverpool Echo.

It further cranks up the worries for the Toffees in their early struggles this season, as the club sits inside the relegation zone on just seven points from eight games.

As a result, the pressure seems to be continuously mounting on Marco Silva and injuries to key players such as Delph are only going to make things tougher for the Portuguese.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The former Aston Villa man has fitted in well at Goodison Park so far, proving to be a worthy addition from Manchester City. Delph has averaged 2.8 tackles in the centre of the pitch per Premier League game, whilst averaging an impressive 5.2 long balls each fixture as well. The Englishman has also averaged 59.9 passes per league match – more than other regular midfielders such as Andre Gomes, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Morgan Schneiderlin.

However, what seems to be irritating the Everton fans more than anything is the fact his absence will keep Schneiderlin in the side for much longer. The Frenchman has had a torrid time this season and has put in displays that have produced ratings of 4/10, 5/10 and 4/10 from The Liverpool Echo in the Toffees’ last three matches – all of which have ended in defeat.

Here’s what some fans have had to say about the injury news…